Great article on the USA Today website that talks about this. The jist of the argument is that little leaguers have been doing this for a long time, but now everyone gets to see it. TV has nothing to do with it, and, most importantly, SHOULDN’T.
Jesus H. Christ, they’re just kids, man. Why do you care so much that they’re having a good time? What is it, like the semifinals now? You have any idea how exciting it must be to be 12 years old in the semifinals of little league?
Keerist on a cracker. They’re kids. They’re supposed to act stupid, and enjoy themselves.
So, the author is basically saying that bad sportsmanship is here and we shouldn’t do anything to correct it.
That is bullshit of the deepest variety.
I especially love his quote about how “They’re 12 year olds and shouldn’t be expected to know any better.”
WHAT!!!???
There is something called common courtesy.
There is something called manners.
There is something called good sportsmanship.
If you get to be 12 years old and you are playing organzied sports and you don’t practice all of the above mentioned things, you are scum and you should sit on the fucking bench.
The offending 12 year olds were chastized by their coaches and warned by the umpire.
The boys, were caught up in the moment, and emulating pro athletes that they have seen or heard of before.
Should they have acted this way? No.
Should they be branded as scum? No.
They are kids, and I’m glad some of you were perfect children, some of us were not.
The kid who pointed to center field with his bat was not “caught up in the moment.” That was taunting, pure and simple.
And don’t even try and tell me that the kid who pimpwalked from 3rd to home hadn’t thought his walk out beforehand.
Of course, part of the blame lies with the coaches, who apparently haven’t sat the kids down and had a talk with them about what is “good” sportsmanship and what is “bad” sportsmanship.
Man, did that ump ever read them the riot act (if it’s the game I saw highlights of). If I were a 12-year-old, it would have made me cry.
The coach of the team looked like a shrinking violet as the ump gave him and the team what-for.
A Little League Coach can’t control his team, and as a result they come off like a collection of punks? Shit’s changed since I was a kid. Back then, cracking down on the remotest hint of being unsportsmanlike was more important than winning or losing. I’m not just waxing nostalgic for a golden age that never existed. It really was like that!
Pimpwalking from third to home is not something learned from watching the big-leaguers (and except for one big-leaguer, neither is calling your shot). If a Major League Ballplayer ever pulled a stunt like that, there are certain unofficial correcting measures that can be taken.
Hey, WSLer, you ARE aware that the coach yelled at the kid and then made him apologize on national TV, right? Oh wait, that’s right, better yell at them before checking into what actually happened.
The Harlem team showed a lot less class than would be expected of any team, even one of just 12 year olds. Age is no excuse for repeatedly showboating around the field. I do feel sorry for the coach, it seemed like he tried to keep them in line, but a few of the players either didn’t get it or just ignored him. Even at 12, I’m sure I knew better than to showboat like they did, and they must have realized that they were showing up the other team at least a little.
One thing that no one has yet mentioned is that the Harlem catcher constantly was turning around to argue balls with the plate ump, at least in the game against California. This will get you run out of the game at almost any level, including the major leagues. I hope that the coach had a talk with him as well because what he was doing looked really bad.
Ruth probably never did it, either. As the opposing pitcher said, “If he had called his shot, I would of put it in his ear”* And rightly so. From the still photo of the moment, it looks to me like he was pointing to the Cub’s dugout, pretty far from where the ‘shot’ was.
*not and exact quote, but words to that effect. It was fairly well documented in Ken Burn’s ‘Baseball’.
This type of behavior is, of course, related directly to the same type exhibited by Major Leaguers. Yet another argument against the ridiculous (in case you missed it, RIDICULOUS) idea that professional sports stars should be presented as role models for our kids.
I have never, EVER seen a major league player do a dance while rounding the bases.
And 99.9% of the kids in the little leauge games on TV wouldn’t dream of doing this either. So, for the moment, lets just say that these particular kids are poor-sport showboats and not try to excuse their behaviour.
You may have never seen major leaguers showboating, but I have. And it’s not just baseball, it’s football, and basketball too. Just because these kids were playing baseball doesn’t mean that they haven’t been influenced by other sports. Why do you think the player’s stride on the way home was described as “Deion Sanders” stride?
The kids got jumped on by the coach, their parents, and by the media. They appologized. This is ridiculous, are each of you saying “I never did something totally stupid when I was 12 years old”? If you are, you must be the only ones. It’s not the end of the world, they aren’t axe murderers… they’re kids. Kids who probably learned a valuable lesson, the hard way, in the national media.